head over heels for huipiles

Guatemala

Mayan textiles have drawn me back to Guatemala several times over the span of 15 years.  We initially thought we would adopt from Guatemala because we love the people and traditions so dearly, but it was a connection not meant to be.  Guatemala is currently closed to international adoptions while the system reorganizes in an attempt to meet Hague Convention requirements.

My love affair with Mayan textiles began with the huipil (whee-peel) .

A Huipil from Joyabaj.

 

This is what happened.  While studying abroad in Costa Rica, I decided to use Guatemala for my visa run in the spring.  I needed a place to explore for at least 72 hours in order to obtain my next 90-day stint and continue my studies until the end of the term.  The flight was cheap and I was feeling gutsy.  At 19, the thought of flying to a new place of my own volition was mind-blowing. 

Anyway, this is how a lot of good things have started in my life.  Openness holds hands with Risk and together they start egging me on.

I read I, Rigoberta Menchu, booked a flight, and went on to travel the typical tourist circuit.  I walked the cobblestone streets of Antigua and the romance of the place virtually slapped me across the face. 

There is nothing like the smell of all of that cold, dusty stone in the early morning.  Hidden gardens slowly reclaim their heritage behind high stucco walls as vines climb up to the light, their weight crumbling anything in its way. 

The small Mayan villages sprinkled around Lake Atitlan began the huipil affair.  Every Mayan village has its own weaving and embroidery tradition.  You can often tell a person’s origins by their clothes.  Although women in particular enjoy trading and wearing patterns from neighboring villages, the origin of design is distinct.  I took a boat across the lake and visited several villages, soaking in the colors and rhythm of the different patterns.  Asking questions and collecting samples. 

I learned that a typical huipil takes months to complete.  One woman explained that her village had both weavers and embroiderers.  The piece of cloth is first woven from hand-spun fibers.  If it is a plain weave, it is often because an embroiderer will then step in.  The additional embroidery can take months.  Everything is done by hand.  It is incredible.

A huipil is usually worn for a very long time.  Decades, if possible.  When an article of clothing is created with such care, it is not meant to fade out of fashion.  Weavers were keen to show me the construction of the back strap loom, the abstract anthropomorphic designs, and, finally, the place where ladies swap and sell their old duds behind the main market.

Collectors of huipiles know that huipiles do not lose value with time, sometimes quite the opposite.  Certain patterns are replaced in villages and then never seen again.  Rediscovering an older pattern is a joy.  When I think of what is essential a year’s works of weaving and embroidering on a relatively small piece of fabric, I get misty. 

I went home with a few antique huipiles from that first trip and my head spinning with color.  I was forever changed.  

You can purchase floor cushions and handbags repurposed from precious huipiles at the Spirit House Designs Presale on November 20^th (please email me for details) for 10% off Holiday Sale prices and, of course, at the Davis Art Center Holiday Sale.  $40 for the small ones up to $130 for the largest, most elaborate cushions.  The big guys are fully lined, complete with invisible zipper for easy washing, as well as a plump pillow insert for artsy lounging. 

 I will gladly share the story of their former lives and just might shed a fond tear of farewell, should you be enthralled enough to take one home. 

Remember that it is not too late to enter the drawing for a nuno felted scarf.  You are automatically entered for leaving a comment here.  You can also enter by leaving a comment here or here.  Three comments equals three entries.  Winner will be named to the November 20th Presale.  You need not be present to win but I would love to see you there!